While this past holiday weekend should have been spent celebrating our nation’s Independence, the talk of the town clearly revolved around the failure of BEC and BPL to provide reliable electrical current – or any communication of the problems for that matter.

From the Editor’s Desk: Love, unity & Electricity

While this past holiday weekend should have been spent celebrating our nation’s Independence, the talk of the town clearly revolved around the failure of BEC and BPL to provide reliable electrical current – or any communication of the problems for that matter.

Token press releases issued by management, if we receive them, are so sparse with details that they are worthless.

The management of BEC / BPL is either too ignorant to see the importance of clear communication with its customers or too flippant to care.

But as a monopoly that is allowed to charge “fuel surcharges” whenever things get tight I suppose they can afford to not care about public opinion.

But we can’t afford it. Reports have been coming in all month of families, who spend a LOT of money to get and be here, cutting their vacations short. Who can blame them? But it still hurts. It hurts you and me and everybody’s bottom lines.

And I know generating and distributing power through an archipelago has many unique challenges. But what is happening now is so far beyond what can be considered acceptable. These problems also did not start overnight. Abaco has been struggling with power supply for decades now. So, surely, somebody must have hashed out some solutions. The question is why have they not been implemented? Money? Experience? Or is it the same problem that permeates Bahamian society: the culture to put a bandage on it, prop it up against the wall and look the other way.

At this point I’ll add, like I do every time I talk about BEC, that our workers and linesmen at BEC are hardworking and some of the best in the business. I am certain that every Abaconian recognizes that the root of our problems do not lie there.

So it’s just incredible. These problems must not come as a surprise to BEC’s management (since they have happened every year, all year long) so how are we not prepared for them?

Who’s to blame? How do we fix it? It’s my understanding that local government will be attempting to host a town hall meeting with appropriate parties. We’ll be sure to do our best to keep the public apprised and aware of that.

It’s just a shame. Independence Day, when all Bahamians should be lifting our heads to the rising sun, we were greeted with darkness. When we should pledge to excel, BEC pledged less service and higher bills. So we should approach this now through love and unity. Love: because there are many, many families struggling with high bills and lost income who we must embrace. And unity: because we must speak with one voice – “Fix This.”